Real Estate Lingo: Under Contract

During your hunt for the perfect home, you’re bound to be disappointed when you spot a perfect home only to discover that it’s “under contract.” In brief, a house is under contract once an offer has been accepted; this doesn’t mean it’s time to give up, a lot can happen to derail a seemingly done deal.
The fact of the matter is that a home is “under contract,” notwithstanding the fact that there are still pre-conditions to completing the contract (or “closing”). These contingencies are often comprised of home inspections, financing, appraisals, and frequently the sale of the buyer’s home; what this means for the competing home buyer is that the deal can still fall apart, and that home may well be available later. To be even more blunt, there’s no rule against providing the owner of the home a “backup offer,” just in case the current deal doesn’t pan out. Sure, contracts typically go off without a hitch, but the cost of not making a backup offer (particularly when there’s not a lot of risk involved) is significant.
Additionally, many agents use the terms “under contract” and “sale pending” interchangeably, but the latter carries the implication that the deal is nearly complete, whereas the former implies that they are earlier on in the process, and a backup offer, may benefit you.
At the Chernov Team we understand that knowledge is power, and knowledge of our craft is powerful knowledge indeed. At the Chernov Team we know that whoever comes to the table most prepared leaves with the most, and the Chernov Team always leaves the table with the most.